New landlord files suit over store's lease

BASS Pro Shops sits on property owned by William Three partnerships. William Three owes almost $5 million in delinquent taxes. The parcel of property which BASS Pro Shops is on has about $3.7 million in delinquent taxes.

Commercial Building Group LLC, the new owner of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World site, wants a court to rule that the lease the hunting and fishing retailer had with the prior landlord is no longer valid.

Commercial Builders Group LLC, which acquired the Bass Pro Shops site at a property tax foreclosure sale in October, argues in a lawsuit that the lease the hunting and fishing retailer had with the property's prior owner was invalidated by the sale.

San Antonio-based CBG wants Bass Pro Shops to either enter into a new lease or give notice that it intends to vacate the property at 17907 Interstate 10 West on the Northwest Side.

A Bass Pro Shops representative, however, indicated to CBG that the retailer would continue to occupy the space pursuant to the lease negotiated with the prior owner, the lawsuit states.

Asked at the foreclosure sale whether CBG would cancel the lease, Bourgeois told the San Antonio Express-News: “I'm not even going to comment on that.” He later said of Bass Pro Shops, “I hope they keep the business going.”

Bass Pro Shops has been one of The Rim's anchor tenants since the center opened in 2006, occupying about 190,000 square feet on more than 22 acres on the far Northwest Side. The retailer signed a 15-year lease with seven five-year options, documents filed with the county show. Financial terms were not disclosed.

But Sylvia Romo, Bexar County's tax assessor-collector, has said the terms of the lease weren't particularly favorable to the original landlord — developer Stanley Thomas. All of the rent Thomas was collecting from Bass Pro Shops was going to pay the lender, Romo said she was told by Thomas. A $26 million note was made on the property in 2006.

Thomas, who has had financial difficulties, let the property go at the October foreclosure sale. CBG was the winning bidder with a $4.2 million offer, far below its $19 million appraised value.

Now CBG seeks to score better lease terms. How much of an increase in rent CBG wants from Bass Pro Shops wasn't specified in the suit, which was filed Nov. 19 in Bexar County District Court.

“Our client does not wish to entertain similar lease terms that you enjoyed under the old lease with the prior owner,” a CBG lawyer wrote Bass Pro Shops on Nov. 16. The letter was filed with the suit.

CBG wants the court to determine that the property is “free and clear of the prior lease.”

Meanwhile, Romo on Friday said Thomas had contacted her a month ago about possibly reacquiring the Bass Pro Shops site. Under Texas law, a party that loses a property in a tax deed sale has 180 days from the date the deed was recorded to get the property back. CBG's deed was recorded Oct. 18.

Thomas would have to pay CBG $4.2 million, plus a 25 percent premium and any reasonable expenses if he wants to get the property back, Romo said. Thomas, who continues to own property at The Rim under various entities, couldn't be reached for comment.